Libya continues to assess the damage caused by catastrophic flooding in the north of the country.
Photo: REUTERS
THE DAM HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED FOR 20 YEARS
Libya continues to assess the damage caused by catastrophic flooding in the north of the country. On Sunday, two dams on the Wadi Derna River collapsed, flooding the city of Derna, with a population of 79,000 people. Given the number of flooded neighborhoods, the death toll could rise to 20,000, Derna Mayor Abdel-Moneim Al-Ghaiti said.
The dams have not been properly maintained since 2002, media outlets now report. Last year, a report by researchers at Omar al-Mukhtar University said both dams required urgent repairs and noted that the risk of flooding next year was very high. However, no action was ever taken.
MUD AND WATER FLOW
The center of Derna now looks like a piece of land “flattened by a steamroller,” witnesses say. Trees were uprooted and buildings and bridges destroyed.
“The water jets were full of mud, trees, pieces of iron, the waves traveled for kilometers before washing away or burying everything in their path,” Abdelaziz Brusya told AFP. – “I lost friends, loved ones. They are either buried under the mud or dragged out to sea by the waves.”
The floods have caused the movement of dangerous munitions throughout the city, which were left in the eastern part of the city from the Libyan civil war, which ended in 2020. The International Committee of the Red Cross in Libya called on survivors and rescuers to Be very careful when moving around the city.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasized in his speech that the disaster in Libya is related to climate change and is part of a series of extreme floods. In recent months, they have caused thousands of deaths and destruction around the world: in Greece, Brazil and Hong Kong.
INTERNATIONAL AID
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it would release $2 million from its emergency fund to help victims, calling the floods a “disaster of epic proportions.”
Türkiye sent a ship with equipment to create two field hospitals. Italy sent three planes with supplies and personnel, as well as two warships. However, problems arose with the unloading of the latter, as the port of Derna, clogged by debris, became practically unusable.
